My Ballard editor to host fundraiser for launch of community newspaper in Kenya

KISS TIMES (1)UPDATE: An online fundraiser has just been launched for Habari Kilifi. To learn more or donate online, click here.

Original: My Ballard’s very own editor Meghan Walker is hosting a fundraiser this Saturday, September 14th to raise money for the launch of a community newspaper in Kilifi, Kenya. The fundraiser will be held at the Kiss Café (2817 NW Market St) all day, with live music starting at 7 p.m.

Walker will use funds raised to start up the newspaper entitled “Habari Kilifi” (Swahili for Hello Kilifi) which will serve a town of 30,000 that currently doesn’t have a local newspaper. She will be travelling to Kenya November 1 to launch Habari Kilifi with the help of several Kenyan journalists. In addition to providing news and information for the community, the newspaper will work as a catalyst to help young people learn about journalism through clubs at various high schools around Kilifi.

Walker has been editor of My Ballard for the past two years and over that time, has developed a strong passion for community journalism while working in our close knit community. She has seen the important role that community news sources can play and wants to foster the growth and raise awareness of the importance of community news in Kilifi. “I plan to work hard to foster the kind of community forum that My Ballard has helped create in our neighborhood, and this fundraiser will be a great way to celebrate not only our amazing community, but also the benefits of creating a similar forum in the town of Kilifi, Kenya,” says Walker.

The money from Saturday’s  fundraiser will go towards helping with the start-up costs for developing the paper, and more specifically, buying reporting supplies (recorders, notebooks, cameras), paying the writers, and for the first round of printing the newspaper, which will eventually become a weekly.

The fundraiser will feature music from local swing band, The Western Bluebirds, and singer songwriter Asher Deaver. In addition to Kiss Cafe’s wide selection of rotating seasonal beers, there will be kegs on tap from local breweries, including Hales, Bad Jimmy’s and Populuxe.

All are welcome to join in the celebration and to help create a lasting community news forum in Kilifi. To find out more about the event and to RSVP click here to see the Facebook event page.

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